Deposits on Made-to-Order Glass
A tempered shower door or an insulated unit is made for one opening. If the customer changes their mind after you've ordered it, nobody else can use it and the fabricator won't take it back. A deposit means the customer, not you, carries that risk.
Flat Glass handles the whole thing for you. When the estimate is approved, the deposit is invoiced. Made-to-order glass isn't ordered until it's paid. And the final invoice takes it off, so nobody has to remember what was paid up front.
This article covers Flat Glass jobs. Commercial Glazing contracts don't use deposits; they're billed by pay application with retainage instead.
Should you take deposits?
Most residential glass shops should, on made-to-order glass. 50% is the common figure, and it's the default.
Deposits make less sense:
- On glass you cut yourself. If the customer walks away from a mirror you cut from stock, you've lost one cut. That's why the recommended setting skips those jobs.
- For contractors and property managers on account. They pay on terms, and asking them for a deposit every time slows down good customers. Give them a payer agreement with No deposit (below).
Setting it up
In Workflows → Flat Glass Settings, on the Deposits tab:
| Setting | Recommended | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Require a deposit | On | Asked for when the estimate is approved. |
| Deposit (% of the estimate) | 50 | A percent of the estimate total, tax included. |
| Which jobs | Only jobs with glass made to order | Jobs whose glass is all cut in your shop or kept in stock don't ask for one. Every job asks on everything. |
| Hold the glass order until the deposit is paid | On | Made-to-order glass can't go to purchasing until the deposit comes in. |
What counts as made to order? Any glass type that isn't marked cut in our shop or kept in stock in your price list. Tempered, laminated and insulated glass usually are. If a glass type is wrongly marked as stocked, no deposit is asked for. See Setting up your glass price list.
Different terms for different payers. On the Payer agreements tab, each agreement can ask for Your usual deposit, A different percent (say 25% for a builder you trust), or No deposit. The agreement applies whether that account is the customer or the account paying for someone else's job.
Before the customer approves
The Approval step tells you, and you can tell the customer: "When it is approved, a deposit of $620.00 (50%) is invoiced, and made-to-order glass is ordered once it is paid."
The Made to order disclosure is part of the approval, recorded with the exact wording the customer saw. The standard wording is: "This glass is made to order for your openings and cannot be returned. Once it has been ordered, the deposit cannot be refunded." Have whoever handles your legal matters read it once, then edit it on the Compliance tab if needed.
When the estimate is approved
Whether the customer approves on their link or in person, Suprata:
- Creates the deposit invoice. It's a normal invoice with one line, Deposit, described as "Deposit toward estimate #1188 (50%)". It goes to whoever pays: the customer, or the billing account paying for the job. It's locked as soon as it's made, so the customer can pay it from the payment link, the customer portal or autopay like any other invoice.
- Puts the job on hold as Waiting for Deposit, if ordering waits for it. The job shows a banner, Waiting for the deposit, with the amount, and appears under the Waiting for deposit tile on the board.
A deposit unpaid for two days is flagged as running late. You can change that time on the Workflow tab.
Collecting it
Take payment (on the banner, or in the Deposit card on the job) opens the deposit invoice. Charge a card there, or send it to the customer the way you send any invoice. A check or cash can be recorded on the job's Billing step with Cash / check.
You don't need to do anything when it's paid. The hold lifts by itself, the job's timeline notes Deposit paid - the glass can be ordered, and if you have the job open, you'll see The deposit is paid. If the customer pays online, it shows up within a few minutes.
Glass waits for the deposit, not the whole job
While the deposit is owed, each made-to-order piece on the Glass step says why it can't be ordered: "S1 is made to order, and the deposit has not been paid yet."
Glass you cut in your shop or take from stock isn't held. On a job with a mirror and a shower door, you can cut the mirror today and order the door the moment the deposit lands.
Changing or waiving a deposit
Sometimes the right answer is no deposit: a long-time customer, or someone paying in full at the install. On the job's Approval step, in the Deposit card, press Change or waive:
- New amount: type the new figure, or leave it empty to waive the deposit.
- Why?: required, and recorded on the job.
A changed deposit replaces the deposit invoice with a new one. A waived deposit cancels it, and the hold comes off.
You need permission to override prices, or to manage workflows, to do this. Once any of the deposit has been paid, change it on the invoice page instead.
Turned deposits on after approving? The Deposit card offers Invoice the deposit, with the amount.
The final invoice
The final invoice is the approved estimate, plus any remake the customer pays for, with a Less deposit line taking the deposit off. For example:
| Estimate total (approved) | $1,240.00 |
| Deposit invoice, paid at approval (50%) | $620.00 |
| Final invoice: $1,240.00 less deposit paid $620.00 | $620.00 |
The deposit invoice and the final invoice together come to exactly the estimate. The job closes itself once both are paid.
Common mistakes
Billing before the deposit is collected. The final invoice takes the deposit off either way, and the deposit invoice stays open on its own. The customer then has two bills to pay. If they're paying everything at the end, waive the deposit first ("paying in full at the install") so they get one invoice for the full amount.
Asking for a deposit on every job. If most of your work is mirrors and single-pane glass you cut yourself, Every job puts a payment step in front of jobs that carry no real risk. Keep Only jobs with glass made to order.
Editing the deposit invoice on the invoice page. Use Change or waive. It keeps the reason, and the job's hold and the final invoice follow it.
Forgetting the contractor agreement. A builder who pays on 30-day terms will not pay a deposit. Without a payer agreement saying No deposit, every one of their jobs sits on hold.
Refunding a deposit after the glass is ordered. The customer agreed in writing that it isn't refundable once ordered, and the glass is already paid for. If they cancel before you order, refund it the normal way. See Refunds and partial refunds.